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Craziest Marijuana Hoax Stories

Mostly due to prohibition, cannabis has had a pretty tough stigma to overcome. Without proper testing of the drug, uneducated people have been able to create exaggerated and false propaganda in the hopes of solidifying the infrastructure of a failed drug war. Some of these efforts have been downright outrageous—especially knowing what we know about the cannabis plant now. So today we walk down memory lane remembering some of the craziest/dumbest hoaxes of marijuana history.

Originally financed by a church in 1936, Reefer Madness largely contributed to the misrepresentations of cannabis during that time. Today, the film is considered a cult classic in the cannabis world due to its absurdity. This film presented the hoax that marijuana use leads to rape, murder and suicide. Who knows if it’s the weed that’s different in 2015, but the last thing we saw a marijuana smoker murder was a bag of chips.

Ah, Costco, home of free sample lunches and the largest pizzas money can buy. This article claims that marijuana bought from the local Suqamish Tribe will be sold in stores across Costco’s Washington and Colorado flagship stores. We all know that the marijuana industry is booming, so they are obviously appealing to us marijuana enthusiasts. Sadly it doesn’t take long to learn this is a hoax… but will it always be?

NASA Discovers New Planet Covered in Marijuana

This hoax is comical even at first glance—the article states that NASA discovered the planet “X637Z-43” (don’t waste your time googling that) is covered in super potent marijuana, which aims to inspire an interest in space by the younger generation. At the moment, however, people seem to be content with earth’s most versatile plant. We know we are.

Everyone knows the dramatized “this is your brain on drugs” advertisements of the 90s which helped fuel prohibition over the decade, showcasing an egg (your “brain”) being fried in a pan. Of course, equating your brain to an egg may only make sense to those who think prohibition is a good idea, but this powerful imagery is what made it famous. D.A.R.E. more recently released an article on their site which stated that cannabis edibles killed nine people in Colorado and 12 at Coachella, hoping to scare youth once again. This, naturally, was deemed a hoax and D.A.R.E. got some heat for being the lying and hate-fueled organization that they are.

“Marijuana Overdose Kill 37 in Colorado”

This originally was a spoof story run by DailyCurrent.com, which stated that 37 people died of cannabis overdose on the first day of legalization in Colorado. Most people with any insight into marijuana knew this simply wasn’t possible and disregarded the story; others didn’t. The story picked up steam and was featured widely on the internet, despite having questionable names and quotes throughout the article.